"Red-legged seriema The red-legged seriema (""Cariama cristata""), or crested cariama, is a mostly predatory terrestrial bird in the seriema family (Cariamidae), included in the Gruiformes in the old paraphyletic circumscription, but increasingly placed in a distinct order Cariamiformes (along with three extinct families). The red-legged seriema inhabits grasslands from Brazil south of the Amazon to Uruguay and northern Argentina. The area over which it occurs is estimated at 5.9 million km², though the bird is not found everywhere in this region of course. The species is absent from the Mata Atlântica and planalto uplands along the coast of Brazil. Unlike"
"foxes. Seriemas are very fierce, and they have been known to attack humans, especially when defending their young. Black-legged seriema The black-legged seriema (""Chunga burmeisteri"") is one of two living species of seriemas in the family Cariamidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. The black-legged seriema is similar to its relative, the red-legged seriema, ""Cariama cristata"". However, the black-legged seriema is more arboreal than its cousin, and it prefers to spend more time in trees. They often live together in family groups, and"
"the black-legged seriema, farmers often use them as guard animals to protect poultry from predators and sometimes human intruders. It is 75 to 90 cm (30 to 36 in) long and weighs about 1.5 kg, with a fairly long neck, tail, and legs. The plumage is medium brown above with black markings; pale brown on the head, neck, and breast; and white on the belly. The tail has a black band near the tip and a white tip. The beak and legs are red, and the eyes are yellow. Soft feathers emerge from the base of the bill to form"
"as lizards and snakes. They supplement this diet with some plant material, too. They have a large, curved, and hyperextensible claw on the second digit of each hind foot. This claw resembles that of the ancient troodontidae dinosaurs, such as ""Stenonychosaurus"". If a piece of food is too large to be swallowed whole, the seriema will cut it apart with the sickle-claw. This claw is also used to kill prey, and climb trees. Farmers in South America often capture young seriemas from the wild, and tame them. They are then trained to guard the farm against potential predators, such as"
"from South and North America. Several other related groups, such as the idiornithids and bathornithids were part of Palaeogene faunas in North America and Europe and possibly elsewhere too. However, the fossil record of the seriemas themselves is poor, with two prehistoric species, ""Chunga incerta"" from the Pliocene of Argentina and ""Noriegavis santacrucensis"" from the Miocene of Argentina, having been described to date. Some of the fossils from the Eocene fauna of the Messel Pit (i.e. ""Salimia"" and ""Idiornis"") have also been suggested to be seriemas, as has the massive predatory ""Paracrax"" from the Oligocene of North America, though their"
"the prey on the ground (Redford and Peters 1986) or throw it at a hard surface to break resistance and also the bones. If the prey is too large to swallow whole, it will be ripped into smaller pieces with a sickle claw by holding the prey in the beak and tearing it apart with the claw. In contact with humans, the seriemas are always suspicious and if they feel threatened by them, usually spread its wings and face them. They walk in pairs or small groups. Although perfectly capable of flying, they prefer to spend most of their time"
"on land. They only take flight when necessary, so as to escape a predator. Overnight they take shelter in the treetops, where they also build their nests. The breeding biology of the seriemas is poorly known, and much of what is known comes only from the red-legged seriemas. Pairs appear to be territorial and avoid others of their species while breeding, and fights between rivals have been observed. These fights involved kicking rivals, can go on for long periods of time, and involve much calling by the involved birds. Seriemas build a large bulky stick nest, lined with leaves and"
"This specimen, which dates to the late Cretaceous period 66 million years ago, is indistinguishable from the femurs of modern seriemas, and belonged to a large bird about tall. Because of its age and geographic location, this unnamed species may have been close to the ancestry of both cariamids and phorusrhacids. Cariamiformes Cariamiformes (or Cariamae) is an order of primarily flightless birds that has existed for over 60 million years. The group includes the family Cariamidae (seriemas) and the extinct families Phorusrhacidae, Bathornithidae, Idiornithidae and Ameghinornithidae. Though traditionally considered as a suborder of Gruiformes, both morphological and genetic studies show"
"Swima Swima is a genus of polychaete worm that lives in the deep ocean. This deep ocean pelagic (free-swimming) annelid has modified bioluminescent gills that can be cast off from an individual. These discarded gills somewhat resemble green ""bombs"" that remain illuminated for several seconds after they have been discarded. It is thought that this is a defensive mechanism rather than reproductive, as it is seen in both mature and juvenile individuals. Animals of the ""Swima"" genus are closely related to the recently discovered ""Teuthidodrilus"" genus, another pelagic cirratuliform of the bathyal zone. The first specimens of the ""Swima"" genus"
"recent studies recover it as independent from this genus. A possibly closely related species, ""Itaboravis"", is known from the Paleocene of Brazil. Unlike its poorly-flighted modern seriema relatives, and the several flightless extinct Cariamiformes like phorusrhacids and bathornithids, ""Elaphrocnemus"" appears to have been a good flyer. It possesses long scapulas, convergent in shape to those of pelicans, and although its furcula was as weakly developed as that of modern seriemas and their flightless relatives it had proportionally large and strong wing bone elements. Likewise, its legs were also shorter than those of other Cariamiformes, implying a less cursorial lifestyle. Because"
"Salea Salea is a genus of arboreal, slow-moving, diurnal, insectivorous, egg-laying agamid lizards endemic to the Western Ghats of South India. It has two species, each inhabiting very high mountainous tracts of the Western Ghats in the Shola forest ecosystems. These lizards rely on their camouflage to escape from predators and to stalk prey. When detected or approached, many turn around twigs or freeze motionlessly to evade notice. Albert Günther, in his treatise ""The Reptiles of British India"", described ""Salea"" as follows: The tympanum naked. Back and sides covered with strongly keeled scales of moderate size; several larger scales are"
"Timema Timema is a genus of relatively short-bodied, stout stick insects native to the far western United States. The genus was first described in 1895 by Samuel Hubbard Scudder, based on observations of the species ""Timema californicum"". Compared to other stick insects (order Phasmatodea), the genus ""Timema"" is considered basal; that is, the earliest ""branch"" to diverge from the phylogenetic tree that includes all Phasmatodea. To emphasize this outgroup status, all stick insects not included in ""Timema"" are sometimes described as ""Euphasmatodea."" Five of the twenty-one species of ""Timema"" are parthenogenetic, including two species that have not engaged in sexual"
"Sirenia The Sirenia, commonly referred to as sea cows or sirenians, are an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. The Sirenia currently comprise the families Dugongidae (the dugong) and Trichechidae (manatees) with a total of four species. The Protosirenidae (Eocene sirenians) and Prorastomidae (terrestrial sirenians) families are extinct. Sirenians are classified in the clade Paenungulata, alongside the elephants and the hyraxes, and evolved in the Eocene 50 million years ago. The Dugongidae diverged from the Trichechidae in the late Eocene or early Oligocene. Sirenians grow to between in length"
"in 1758 of a ""sea long worm"", and in 1770 Gunnerus wrote a formal description of this animal, which he called ""Ascaris longissima"". Its current name, ""Lineus longissimus"", was first used in 1806 by Sowerby. In 1995, a total of 1,149 species had been described and grouped into 250 genera. Nemertea are named after the Greek sea-nymph Nemertes, one of the daughters of Nereus and Doris. Alternative names for the phylum have included Nemertini, Nemertinea, and Rhynchocoela. The Nemertodermatida are a separate phylum, whose closest relatives appear to be the Acoela. Nemerteans are very unusual animals. The typical nemertean body"
"extra-thin, durable spider socks by year 2010. Jorōgumo is a legendary creature in Japanese folklore. A Jorōgumo is a spider which can change its appearance into that of a beautiful woman. She seeks men to seduce, whom she then binds in her silk and devours. Nephila clavata Nephila clavata, also known as the , is a member of the golden orb-web spider genus. The spider can be found throughout Japan except Hokkaidō, in Korea, Taiwan, China, and more recently, Northeast Georgia in North America. Due to the large size as well as the bright, unique colors of the female ""Nephila"","
"Sericopelma Sericopelma is a genus of tarantula (family Theraphosidae), found in Central America from Nicaragua to Panama. The limits of the genus and its distribution have long been confused; it is closely related to the genus ""Aphonopelma"". ""Sericopelma"" species are among the largest found in Central America. They can be kept as pets, although at least one species has been described as ""very aggressive"". Spiders in the genus ""Sericopelma"" are some of the largest found in Central America. Males have bodies long, females are somewhat longer at . They can be kept as pets in terraria, although ""S. melanotarsum"" is"
"Jorōgumo Jorōgumo (Japanese Kanji: , Hiragana: ) is a type of ""Yōkai"", a creature, ghost or goblin of Japanese folklore. It can shapeshift into a beautiful woman, so the kanji for its actual meaning is 女郎蜘蛛 or ""woman-spider"", and to write it instead as 絡新婦 (""entangling newlywed woman"") is a jukujikun pronunciation of the kanji. In Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, it is depicted as a spider woman manipulating small fire-breathing spiders. Jorōgumo can also refer to some species of spiders, such as the Nephila and Argiope spiders. Japanese-speaking entomologists use the katakana form of ""Jorōgumo"" () to refer exclusively"
"Margaromma Margaromma is a spider genus of the Salticidae family (jumping spiders). The eight described species occur mostly in Australia and New Zealand, with several other species on Pacific islands. One species (""M. nitidum"") is found in Cameroon. ""M. spatiosum"" from Sarawak has not been studied since its first description in 1907. It reaches a body length of about 5 mm. ""M. spatiosum"" has a high cephalothorax, with a flattish area just behind the rear eyes. The eye region is black, the rear part dark red, with white bands around the sides. The abdomen is almost circular and truncated at"
"Spirometra Spirometra is a genus of pseudophyllid cestodes that reproduce in canines and felines, but can also cause pathology in humans if infected. As an adult, this tapeworm lives in the small intestine of its definitive host and produces eggs that pass with the animal's feces. When the eggs reach water, the eggs hatch into coracidia which are eaten by copepods. The copepods are eaten by a second intermediate host to continue the life cycle. Humans can become infected if they accidentally eat frog legs or fish with the plerocercoid stage encysted in the muscle. In humans, an infection of"
"Spirama Spirama is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae. Antennae usually minutely fasciculate in male. Tibia not hairy and mid tibia spined. Palpi with second joint reaching vertex of head and third joint naked. Thorax and abdomen smoothly clothed with hair. Fore wings with nearly rectangular apex. Hind wings with vein 5 from lower angle of cell, which is rather short. Some of the species, such as ""S. helicina"", ""S. indenta"", ""S. recessa"", ""S. remota"" and ""S. sumbana"", have a pattern on the wings that looks like the frontal view of the face of a snake with slightly"
"Eurema Eurema is a widespread genus of grass yellow butterflies in the family Pieridae. Species range from Asia, Africa, Australia, and Oceania, to the New World. The type species is the North American barred yellow (""Eurema daira""). There are over 70 species in the genus, but more than 300 synonymous names have been applied to them. Some species, such as the common African grass yellow (""E. hecabe"") have over 80 synonyms. The genus itself has over 15 junior generic synonyms. This is the price of being a widespread taxon, as well as a zoogeographical problem. Listed alphabetically within groups: Species"
"shut himself in his house. The eel lost her fight with the jorōgumo, and Genbe died of insanity. Jorōgumo Jorōgumo (Japanese Kanji: , Hiragana: ) is a type of ""Yōkai"", a creature, ghost or goblin of Japanese folklore. It can shapeshift into a beautiful woman, so the kanji for its actual meaning is 女郎蜘蛛 or ""woman-spider"", and to write it instead as 絡新婦 (""entangling newlywed woman"") is a jukujikun pronunciation of the kanji. In Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, it is depicted as a spider woman manipulating small fire-breathing spiders. Jorōgumo can also refer to some species of spiders, such"
"Phronima Phronima is a genus of small, deep sea hyperiid amphipods of the family Phronimidae. It is found throughout the world's oceans, except in polar regions. ""Phronima"" species live in the pelagic zone of the deep ocean. Their bodies are semitransparent. Although commonly known as parasites, they are more technically correctly called parasitoids. Instead of constantly feeding on a live host, females attack salps, using their mouths and claws to eat the animal and hollow out its gelatinous shell. ""Phronima"" females then enter the barrel and lay their eggs inside, and then propels the barrel through the water as the"
"were discovered in the deep trenches of Monterey Bay, off the coast of California. There are currently three species recognised within the ""Swima"" genus, the type species ""S. bombiviridis"", ""S. fulgida"" and ""S. tawitawiensis. Animals of the ""Swima"" genus are characterized by a thick gelatinous sheath, transparent body, simple nuchal organs, a single medial subulate branchia, and four pair of small segmental branchiae modified as elliptical, bioluminescent sacs. The genus name, ""Swima"", is derived from the Latin, referring to the animal's ability to swim. Swima Swima is a genus of polychaete worm that lives in the deep ocean. This deep"
"Spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs and chelicerae with fangs able to inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every habitat with the exceptions of air and sea colonization. , at least 45,700 spider species, and 113 families have been recorded by taxonomists. However, there has been dissension within the scientific community as to how all these families should be classified, as evidenced by"
"metatarsus is not scopulate. This species is sometimes kept as a pet, and has been imported since 1909 from Peru. It needs a quite wet and relatively cool environment. Reversopelma Reversopelma is a monotypic genus of spider in the Theraphosidae family. It is Theraphosine and is native to Peru and Ecuador. The single species is Reversopelma petersi. ""Reversopelma"" shows strong sexual dimorphism, the female being light brown on the cephalothorax and having a black abdomen, whilst the male is much darker overall. It is quite small (30–35 mm), and the scopulae on the fourth tarsus of the legs are divided"
"Poromera Poromera is a genus of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The genus ""Poromera"" is monotypic, containing the single species, Poromera fordii, commonly known as the West African striped lizard. The species is endemic to western Central Africa. ""Poromera"" is derived from the Greek words ""póros"" (πόρος) which means ""pore"" or ""duct"" and ""mērós"" (μηρός) which means ""thigh"". ""Poromera"" refers to the long series of femoral pores on the thighs of this species. The specific name, ""fordii"", is in honor of Dr. Henry A. Ford, a medical missionary in Gabon, who collected specimens for the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences."
"larvae develop, providing them with fresh food and water. The genus ""Phronima"" contains these species: Phronima Phronima is a genus of small, deep sea hyperiid amphipods of the family Phronimidae. It is found throughout the world's oceans, except in polar regions. ""Phronima"" species live in the pelagic zone of the deep ocean. Their bodies are semitransparent. Although commonly known as parasites, they are more technically correctly called parasitoids. Instead of constantly feeding on a live host, females attack salps, using their mouths and claws to eat the animal and hollow out its gelatinous shell. ""Phronima"" females then enter the barrel"
"Mesozoa The Mesozoa (singular: mesozoan) are minuscule, worm-like parasites of marine invertebrates. Generally, these tiny, elusive creatures consist of a somatoderm (outer layer) of ciliated cells surrounding one or more reproductive cells. Decades ago, Mesozoa were classified as a phylum. Molecular phylogeny studies, however, have shown that the mysterious mesozoans are monophyletic, and emerged in the Lophotrochozoa as sister of the Rouphozoa. As a result of these recent findings in molecular biology, the label mesozoan is now often applied informally, rather than as a formal taxon. Some workers previously classified Mesozoa as the sole phylum of the lonely subkingdom Agnotozoa."
"Mycelium Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus or fungus-like bacterial colony, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrates. A typical single spore germinates into a homokaryotic mycelium, which cannot reproduce sexually; when two compatible homokaryotic mycelia join and form a dikaryotic mycelium, that mycelium may form fruiting bodies such as mushrooms. A mycelium may be minute, forming a colony that is too small to see, or it may"
"Pyrosome Pyrosomes, genus Pyrosoma, are free-floating colonial tunicates that live usually in the upper layers of the open ocean in warm seas, although some may be found at greater depths. Pyrosomes are cylindrical or cone-shaped colonies made up of hundreds to thousands of individuals, known as zooids. Colonies range in size from less than one centimeter to several metres in length. They are commonly called ""sea pickles"". Each zooid is a few millimetres in size, but is embedded in a common gelatinous tunic that joins all of the individuals. Each zooid opens both to the inside and outside of the"
"group: Species group abaeis: Species group pyrisitia: Species group teriocolias: Unknown species group Eurema Eurema is a widespread genus of grass yellow butterflies in the family Pieridae. Species range from Asia, Africa, Australia, and Oceania, to the New World. The type species is the North American barred yellow (""Eurema daira""). There are over 70 species in the genus, but more than 300 synonymous names have been applied to them. Some species, such as the common African grass yellow (""E. hecabe"") have over 80 synonyms. The genus itself has over 15 junior generic synonyms. This is the price of being a"
"2011 and 2015 suggest that some of these were errors, and that the true range of the genus is from Nicaragua to Panama. Sericopelma Sericopelma is a genus of tarantula (family Theraphosidae), found in Central America from Nicaragua to Panama. The limits of the genus and its distribution have long been confused; it is closely related to the genus ""Aphonopelma"". ""Sericopelma"" species are among the largest found in Central America. They can be kept as pets, although at least one species has been described as ""very aggressive"". Spiders in the genus ""Sericopelma"" are some of the largest found in Central"